How does the career background of administrative

leaders affect their public service motivation and

self-perception? Findings from a survey of chancellors

at higher education institutions in Germany

The contribution explores two research questions:

(1) How do NPM inspired reforms of higher education

institutions in Germany affect the sociodemographic

characteristics and career background of

administrative leaders at these institutions? (2) How

does the career background influence the public service

motivation (PSM) and self-conception? Data is

drawn from two representative survey studies of administrative

leaders (chancellors) at higher education

institutions in Germany that have been conducted in

2008 and 2015. The findings show that the reforms

have not led to more external recruitments – i.e. of

persons without professional experience in the public

sector – but that mixed work experience in the public

and in the private sector is of increasing importance

for fulfilling the requirements connected to administrative

leadership. With regard to the second research

question, our main finding is that there are only

weak effects of career background on PSM. The

study reveals, however, differences in the perceived

importance of various tasks (e.g. representation, ensuring

efficient processes, ensuring compliance with

legal requirements) dependent on the career background.